believe, sir, that either of these men committed the
murder. What should a man of the rank and wealth of Titus have to do in
a thieves' cavern? He was never there. But this poor, ragged stranger
was sleeping in a corner when I and my fellow entered. Thieves, you
know, sometimes fall out, especially over their booty. This was what
happened last night; and, to put an end to the quarrel, I used a knife."

The appearance of a third self-accuser so perplexed the judge that he
put the case before Octavius Caesar, and Caesar called the three men up
before him. Thereupon Titus and Gisippus related to him at length the
strange story of their friendship, and he set the two friends at
liberty, and even pardoned the thief for their sakes.

Titus then took Gisippus to his house and forced him to accept a half of
his great wealth, and married him to his sister Fulvia, a very charming
and lovely young noblewoman.

For the rest of their lives Titus and Sophronia, and Gisippus and
Fulvia, lived very happily together in the same palace in Rome, and
every day added something to their contentment and felicity.

_The Three Rings: A Tale of Ingenuity_

It was now Neifile's turn to tell a story, and she said that as there
had been much controversy at Florence during the plague concerning
religion, this had put her in mind of the tale of Melchizedeck.

This man was a very rich Jew, who lived at Alexandria in the reign of
great Sultan Saladin. Saladin, being much impoverished by his wars, had
a mind to rob Melchizedeck. In order to get a pretext for plundering the
Jew, he sent for him.

"I hear that thou art very wise in religious matters," said Saladin,
"and I wish to know which religion thou judgest to be the true one--the
Jewish, the Mohammedan, or the Christian?"

The Jew saw that Saladin wanted to trap him. If he said that the Jewish
or the Christian faith was the true one, he would be condemned as an
infidel. If, on the other hand, he agreed that the Mohammedan religion
was preferable to the others, the sultan would say that a wealthy
believer ought to contribute largely to the expenses of the state. After
considering how best to avoid the snare, the wise Jew replied:

"Some time ago, your majesty, there was a man who had a ring of great
beauty and value. And he declared in his will that the son to whom this
ring was bequeathed should be the head of the family, and that his
descendants should rule over the descendants of the